Life Without Mobility

While my advice at times may seem like I’m talking about someone else, this time, I’m definitely directing my blog to you. That’s right, right now while you read this blog while planted firmly on your backside, you are reducing your mobility to the point that by the time your 80, you’ll most likely need help going to and getting up off the toilet.

So my question to you is, “How much dignity are you willing to give up in your later years?”

Ok, perhaps not all of you. Most of you are, no doubt, far more diligent about your joint health than most, but the majority of people you know right now, will eventually lose enough mobility in their joints to ensure that they will, at some time, cease to be able to look after themselves, requiring part or even full time care.

If you aren’t being pro-active with your joint mobility, living without mobility will likely be your future too.

So how do we lose our ability to comfortably sit, stand, crouch, reach and twist? Why do most 40 year olds (at least in our society) loathe to go camping for fear of having to crouch to do a number 2? (I guess that’s no. 1 for you girls as well.)

There are lots of reasons why we stiffen up as we age and yes, genetics does play its part. Elastin, for example, is an important load bearing tissue made from protein in our bodies, will naturally but quite rapidly, break down as we age. Stretching and lengthening movements will however, help reduce the knotting of these fibres and reduce the stiffening nature of ageing.

But… and I’m sure you knew this was coming… Sitting is one of the WORST activities you can do, as far as reducing your mobility is concerned. As one of my mentors Dr Mark Cheng likes to say, “Sitting makes your ass think it’s your foot.”

Let me explain.

Your body is made up of both mobile and stable joints, with every second joint in the chain being mobile. The flat of your foot (not a joint, but a contact point with mother earth) is stable, your ankle then would be mobile, your knee is stable, your hips are mobile, your lower back stable, your thoracic spine mobile and on and up through your neck and down your arms.

Now… When you sit, your point of reference to mother earth is now your ass, which means the entire movement chain is turned on its… well ass. So, your once mobile hips are now locked in for stability, your knees are now mobile and ankles fixed in the one position. But wait… there’s more. Your poor lumbar spine, which was designed as a stability point, is now required to be mobile to make up for the lack of movement in the hips. So guess what? The thoracic or T-spine is now required to stabilise your back.

A stiff and stable T-spine is very un-cool, as it limits one’s ability to press overhead and thereby, not only reduces the number of cool exercises one can perform (Push/Press, Snatch, Overhead Squat, etc), but it can also render them damaging to your movement function. That’s right. Your flip flopped stability/mobility system can now be ruined by otherwise fantastic movement skills … because you sit too long! (This is why I have a hard time watching people train in a regular commercial ‘box’ gym. It’s like watching a horror movie. You don’t know what’s going to happen or when, you just know something is and it’s going to be bad!)

Now, you might think, “I’ll simply avoid those exercises!” What, like putting your bag in an overhead locker when you fly or squatting to the floor to play with a child? Well you could avoid those things or you could spend a few minutes a day simply try to maintain your natural mobility.

So, not only have we flip flopped our natural state of stability and mobility, but these long bouts of sitting actually create a state called muscle creep, where the muscles adapt to whatever position it is placed in, like sitting. Imagine being in a car for a long, 2 hour drive and then being asked to sprint 200m the second you left the car… *shudder* Your muscles have ‘adapted’ to that seated position. Muscle creep not only inhibits and shortens certain muscles during a 2 hour Sunday drive, but prolonged and continuous bouts of sitting will ensure you a classic shuffle into your later years.

So what can you do?

1.Move damn it. Don’t sit for longer than 2 hours… EVER! Max 20 minutes is even better.

2.Make sure you know the difference between muscle stretching and neural stretching. (blog for another time)

3.Mobility drills are just as important as static stretching. Do both!

4.Ensure you stretch your hip flexors (front of hips) and chest (pectorals) after you’ve been seated for extended periods.

5.Beware of ‘Gluteal Amnesia’ (Sleepy bum muscles)

6.Drink lots of water.

7.Find someone to stretch and mobilise with. It can be a little dull on your own.

8.Ask for advice if there is any (and I mean any) pain.

9.Discomfort is your friend. (teaspoon of cement)

10.Just Do It.

Signing out. My dignity is certainly worth the 10-15 minutes a day that I spend stretching and mobilizing.

If I’m lucky enough to see out 90 years, “I’ll be getting up and wiping my own damn ass thanks!”